Turkey vows to remove Gulen movement 'by
its roots' after failed coup
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[July 19, 2016]
By Ercan Gurses and Ayla Jean Yackley
ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey vowed on
Tuesday to root out allies of the U.S.-based cleric it blames for a
failed coup attempt last week, after an already deep purge of the army,
police and judiciary, and said it had sent Washington evidence of his
wrongdoing.
President Tayyip Erdogan and the government accuse Fethullah Gulen of
orchestrating an attempted military takeover on Friday in which at least
232 people were killed, and have called in speeches for his extradition
from the United States.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim accused Washington, which has said it
will only consider an extradition request if clear evidence is provided,
of double standards in its fight against terrorism. He said the justice
ministry had sent a dossier to U.S. authorities.
Western leaders have expressed solidarity with the government over the
coup attempt but also alarm at the sweeping response, urging Turkey to
adhere to democratic values.
In a defiant parliament speech, Yildirim said the fact civilians had
been targeted in the attempted power grab by a faction in the military
made it unprecedented in the history of Turkey, which last saw a violent
coup more than 30 years ago.
"I'm sorry but this parallel terrorist organization will no longer be an
effective pawn for any country," Yildirim said.
"We will dig them up by their roots so that no clandestine terrorist
organization will have the nerve to betray our blessed people again."
Around 1,400 people were wounded as soldiers commandeered tanks, attack
helicopters and warplanes in their bid to seize power, strafing
parliament and the intelligence headquarters and trying to seize the
main airport and bridges in Istanbul.
Authorities have suspended or detained close to 20,000 soldiers, police,
judges and civil servants in the days since the coup bid.
"SERIOUS ALARM"
The broad crackdown and calls to reinstate the death penalty for
plotters have drawn appeals from Western allies for Ankara to uphold the
rule of law in the country, a NATO member bordering the chaos of Syria
whose cooperation in the fight against Islamic State is crucial to
Washington.
Some have expressed concern that Erdogan - who said he was almost killed
or captured by the mutineers - was using the opportunity to consolidate
power and further a process of stifling dissent.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, voiced
"serious alarm" on Tuesday at the mass suspension of judges and
prosecutors.
"In the aftermath of such a traumatic experience, it is particularly
crucial to ensure that human rights are not squandered in the name of
security and in the rush to punish those perceived to be responsible,"
Zeid said.
The foreign ministry has said criticism of the government's response
amounts to backing the coup.
Yildirim said Turkey would respect the rule of law and not be driven by
revenge in prosecuting suspected coup plotters. Speaking alongside the
leader of the main secularist opposition Republican People's Party
(CHP), he said the country must avoid the risk that some people try to
exploit the current situation.
"We need unity ... and brotherhood now," he said.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a right-wing grouping and the
smallest of the three opposition parties represented in parliament, said
it would back the government if it decides to restore the death penalty.
"If the (ruling) AK Party is ready on the issue of the death penalty, so
are we," MHP leader Devlet Bahceli told his lawmakers.
Turkey scrapped the death penalty in 2004 as part of its push to join
the European Union, and European leaders have warned Ankara against
restoring it.
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Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildrim (C) visits damaged parts of
the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Umit
Bektas
"100 PERCENT SECURITY"
More than 6,000 soldiers and around 1,500 others have been detained
since the abortive coup. Some 8,000 police officers, including in
the capital Ankara and the biggest city Istanbul, have been removed
on suspicion of links to the plot.
Two of the arrested soldiers were pilots who shot down a Russian
fighter plane near the border with Syria last November, an incident
which sparked a diplomatic row with Moscow, a senior Turkish
official said.
Some 1,500 finance ministry officials have also been removed from
their posts. Annual leave has been suspended for more than 3 million
civil servants, while close to 3,000 judges and prosecutors have
also been purged. A court remanded 26 generals and admirals in
custody on Monday, Turkish media said.
Officials in Ankara say former air force chief Akin Ozturk, who has
appeared in detention with his face and arms bruised and one ear
bandaged, was a co-leader of the coup. Turkish media said on Monday
he had denied this to prosecutors, saying he had tried to prevent
the attempted putsch.
Yildirim said Turkey needed to ensure "100 percent security" of the
whole country. The government would announce important decisions on
Wednesday to rescue the country from what he said were extraordinary
circumstances.
The government says it was masterminded by Gulen, a Muslim cleric
based in the United States who has a wide following in Turkey. He
denies any involvement and has suggested the coup was orchestrated
by Erdogan as an excuse for a crackdown.
ERDOGAN: I WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED
The coup crumbled after Erdogan, on holiday with his family at the
coastal resort of Marmaris, phoned in to a television news program
and called for his followers to take to the streets. He was able to
fly into Istanbul in the early hours of Saturday, after rebel pilots
had his plane in their sights but did not shoot it down.
He said on Monday that he might have died if he had left Marmaris
any later. "Two of my close bodyguards were martyred, they were
killed," he told CNN in an interview. "Had I stayed 10 or 15
additional minutes there, I would have been killed or I would have
been taken."
He repeated his call that parliament must consider his supporters'
demands to apply the death penalty for the plotters.
"The people have the opinion that these terrorists should be
killed," he said. "Why should I keep them and feed them in prisons
for years to come, that's what the people say."
The bloodshed shocked the nation of almost 80 million, where the
army last used force to stage a successful coup more than 30 years
ago, and shattered fragile confidence in the stability of a NATO
member state already rocked by Islamic State suicide bombings and an
insurgency by Kurdish militants.
Since the coup was put down, Erdogan has said enemies of the state
still threatened the country and has urged Turks to take to the
streets every evening until Friday to show their support for the
government.
Thousands heeded his words and took to squares in Turkey's three
biggest cities on Monday, the third day in a row, to show their
support.
(Additional reporting by Gareth Jones, Orhan Coskun,; Writing by
Nick Tattersall, editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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